Hundreds gather to pay respect to Sparks Middle School teacher

SPARKS, Nev. (AP) — Hundreds of students and others in Nevada are remembering a middle school teacher who was killed and two classmates who were wounded by a 12-year-old who then turned his gun on himself.

Some in the crowd of more than 400 gathered at a candlelight vigil clutched babies, and others held Batman balloons Wednesday night at Sparks Middle School.

They sang "Let There Be Peace on Earth" at a makeshift memorial for their beloved teacher Michael Landsberry. The ex-Marine was a big fan of the cartoon superhero.

Spanish Springs Presbyterian Pastor Howard Dotson led students in a pledge to "be a peacemaker."

Students repeated after him, "There is nothing glorious or sexy about guns."

Julia Rubin of the Temple Sinai in neighboring Reno prayed for "a world where guns and children don't go together."